Harley Davidson issued some figures today on the number of women purchasing its motorcycles. The company said that in 2003, 10 percent of the customers who bought an HD were women. That equates to 23,000 bikes.

The increase in the number of female riders doesn't surprise any of us fellow riders. But numbers are always interesting to me.

The Motorcycle Industry Council reported the same figure, showing that the percentage of lady riders increased from 8.2% in 2002 to 10% in 2003.

Paul James, communications manager for Harley-Davidson, Inc. says one thing that has helped fuel the increase in women riders are bikes with lower seats, such as the Sportster. In addition, many dealers are carrying a full line of HD branded clothing, and are hiring women to help sell to other women.